Hello Randy & All,

I am very familiar with the way the commercial beekeepers operate myself.

The question of making money was never questioned.

I question why the USDA-ARS and many use winter loss as the measure for CCD
and the industry.

What about the fall dinks (depopulated) , deadouts & completely empty hives?

I have been the first many times to open a few beekeepers eyes to the
problem. What if those beekeepers could not split for a season? Hmmm.


> Pesticides were essentially a
> non issue to these guys.  They see occasional kills, and lose the crop for
> that yard, but merely shrugged them off.

These guys shrug all hives with problems off. treat for AFB and stick some
more bees in the boxes.

> These guys were multigenerational beekeepers, all move to almonds, all
> make
> honey.  None were complaining.

I am not complaining only pointing out reality.

CONSTANT SPLITTING IS THE ENGINE OF TODAY'S COMMERCIAL BEEKEEPING

When a beekeeper like myself is asked to take a look I see a better picture
of the operation. You would also Randy.

>
> Things are different in different areas.  It sounds like it's tough in
> Bob's area.

My bees look great but keeping healthy bees in areas of row crops is not
easy.

>
> Re the Russian beekeeper, guys who run over 10,000 hives don't do it for a
> hobby.  They do it to make money.  They manage their operation to make
> money, not to make a point.

Understood.
I still have to wonder about all those empty hives &  dinks from those 7200
splits with new queens. The problem is not unique to the Russian beekeeper.
Most large beekeepers are seeing the problem. However once they depopulate
the dinks and move the boxes to storage they take what is left and from
those their winter losses are figured.

If you went by yearly loss of every hive you started during the season then
what would yearly loss be?
(if as the USDA-ARS says annual winter loss is around 30%)

Could the effect of pesticide damage ever be accurately figured?

A few of us are always punching the calculator.

bob

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